Water ski



May 14, 1963 G. POWERS WATER SKI Filed Feb. 10, 1961 N VE N LAURENCE a. POWERS NE VS United States Patent 3,089,158 WATER SKI Lawrence G. Powers, Hayward, Calif., assignor to Whittlesey Powers, Inc, Hayward, Calif., 21 corporation of California Filed Feb. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 88,358 7 Claims. (Cl. 9-310) This invention relates to skis and more particularly to water skis.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide water skis having the same general shape and dimensions as conventional water skis so that they look and function in a manner similar to water skis which are accepted by and popular with todays sportsmen but which will present a new and pleasing appearance to sportsmen and which will be easier to use than conventional water skis.

It is another principal object of the invention to provide such water skis which will be stronger and will withstand more wear than conventional water skis.

it is another principal object of the invention to provide an improved water ski with which the water skier can start water skiing more easily than with conventional water skis.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide water skis which are similar in appearance and durability to high quality snow skis made of metal but which are particularly suited for use as water skis instead of snow skis.

it is another specific object of the invention to provide such water skis which are made of metal but which are sulficiently buoyant that they can be recovered easily when the water skier falls while skiing.

It is another specific object of the invention to provide such water skis which are sufiiciently buoyant to float but which will sink when worn by a stationary water skier and which when thus submerged will automatically orient themselves to facilitate the skiers rise to the surface when a boat starts to pull him.

It is another object of the invention to provide such water skis which are structurally strong and may be manufactured easily and efficiently.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a water ski constructed in accordance with this invention, the ski being one of a pair of identical skis;

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the ski of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the central portion of the ski of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, the ski of the invention is constructed of upper and lower elongated sheets 10 and 12 of aluminum which are preferably treated to resist corrosive attack by salt water. One end of each of the sheets 10 and 12 is curved upwardly to define the forward tip 14 of the ski. A body of laminated wood 16 is disposed between the sheets 10 and .12 and is attached to the sheets 10' and 12. by suitable means such as cement and screws. The sheets 10 and 12, and the wood body 16 are made of proper dimensions so that the ski is substantially identical to conventional water skis in shape, length, width and thickness, the thickness of the ski measured perpendicular to the bottom sheet 12 being substantially less than the width of the ski.

The width of the ski is preferably within the range of five to eight inches in order that each of the skiers feet can be supported centnally of a ski without the two skis interfering with each other.

A ski binding is mounted on the top sheet 10 of the ski about midway in its length and comp-rises a toe-binding member 18 and a heel-binding member 20. The toebinding member 18 is secured to the ski by a pair of metal ice strips 22 attached to the ski by screws 24 which extend through the top metal sheet 10 and into the laminated wood body 16.

The heel-binding member 20 is mounted on a ratchet plate '26 which is adjustably received in .a metal track 28. A leaf spring 30 is attached to the track by a screw 32 and extends through the edge of the track to engage in the ratchet notches 34 on the plate 26 and lock the plate 26 against rearward movement in the track 28. A suitable finger 36 is provided on the spring 30 to permit manual withdrawal of the spring from the notches 34. The heelbindin'g track is attached to the ski by a plurality of screws 38 extending through the top sheet 10 of the ski and into the wood body 16. A support strap 40, adjustable in length if desired, may be provided interconnecting the heel and toe binding members.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, a cavity is provided inside the ski between the top and bottom sheets 10 and '12 and peripherally enclosed by the laminated wood body 16. The cavity has a narrow portion 42 which extends under the ski binding and between the two rows of screws :24 and an enlarged portion 44 disposed between the narrow portion 42 and the forward tip of the ski. The cavity formed of portions 42 and 44 is filled by a body of buoyant material preferably impermeable plastic foam of sutficiently high volume and low density that the ski will float in water. The body of buoyant material is of sufficiently low volume and high density that the ski will be submerged in water when a skier is standing thereon and is not moving through the water. Depending upon factors such as density and volume of the remainder of the materials in the ski, the volume and density of the body of buoyant material are preferably chosen so that the body will support about one-half to about ten pounds in water. The density of the buoyant material in the cavity is less than the density of the laminated wood body '16.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 the majority, and preferably about two-thirds of the body of buoyant material in the cavity is disposed between the center of the ski binding and the forward tip- 16 of the ski. Accordingly, when a water skier is wearing the ski and is stationary in the water, the buoyancy of the buoyant body in the cavity will cause the skis to incline themselves with the forward ends of the skis extending upwardly toward the surface of the water. When thereafter a boat starts to pull the skier, the skis will be automatically in position to plane to the surface of the water, lifting the skier into position above the 'water.

it should be noted that in order to obtain sufiicien-t volume of the buoyant material in the ski and have the majority of that material between the center of the ski and the forward tip thereof without increasing the dimensions of the ski excessively, it is desirable for a portion of the cavity to extend under the ski binding. It is for this reason that the narrow portion 42 of the cavity is provided. The portion 42 is made narrower than the portion 44 in order to strengthen the portion of the ski which supports the sk-iers foot and in order that the screws 24 and 38 can be anchored in the wooden body 16 thereby producing a ski which is more easily manufactured.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein, it is obvious that many modifications may be made in the embodiment illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A water ski comprising a pair of elongated and gener-ally parallel sheets of metal defining the top and bottom of the ski, one end of each of said sheets being curved toward the top of the ski to define the forward tip of the ski, the sheet defining the top of the ski having a generally central area adapted to support the foot of a water skier, generally rigid spacing means between said sheets and mounting said sheets togther with the thickness of said ski being less than the width of the ski, said spacing means defining a cavity between said sheets with substantially more than half of .the volume of said cavity positioned between'said forward tip and said central area, and a body of buoyant material filling said cavity, said buoyant material being of suflicient bulk and lightness that said ski will float in water.

2. The water ski of claim 1 characterized further in that the bulk of said buoyant material is less than the bulk necessary to float the ski and a water skier in water.

3. The waterski of claim 1 characterized further by the inclusion or" a ski binding mounted on the top of said ski overlying said central area.

4. The water ski of claim 3 in which said body of buoyant material includes a narrow portion thereof extending through the central area of said ski and an enlarged portion positioned between said narrow portion and said forward tip, and said ski binding is attached to said spacing means between the edge of the ski and said narrow portion.

5. A water ski comprising a pair of elongated and generally parallel sheets of aluminum defining the top and bottom of the ski, one end of each sheet being curved toward the top of the ski to define the forward tip of the ski, the sheet defining the top of the ski having a generally central area adapted to support the foot of a water skier, a body of laminated wood positioned between said sheets and attached to said sheets with the thickness of the ski thus formed being substantially less than its width, said body of laminated wood being provided with a cavity therein having a narrow portion adjacent to said central area and an enlarged portion between said central area and said forward tip of said ski with the volume of said enlarged portion exceeding the volume of said narrow portion, a body of impermeable buoyant material filling said cavity, and a ski binding positioned on said central area of the aluminum sheet defining the top of the ski with a plurality of screws attaching said binding to said laminated wood along the sides of said narrow portion of said cavity.

6. A water ski comprising a pair of elongated and generally parallel sheets of a material having a specific gravity greater than unity with the sheets defining the top and bottom of the ski, one end of each of said sheets being curved toward the top of the ski to define the forward tip of the ski, the sheet defining the top of the ski having a generally central area adapted to support the foot of a water skier, generally rigid spacing means between said sheets and mounting said sheets together with the thickness :of said ski being less than the width of the ski, said spacing means defining a cavity between said sheets with substantially more than half of the volume of said cavity positioned between said forward tip and said central area, and a body of buoyant material filling said cavity, said buoyant material being of sufiicient bulk and lightness that said ski will float in water.

7. A water ski comprising a pair of elongated and generally parallel sheets of a material having a specific gravity greater than unity with the sheets defining the top and bottom of the ski, one end of each of said sheets being curved toward the top of the ski to define the forward tip of the ski, the sheet defining the top of the ski having a generally central area adapted to support the foot of a water skier, generally rigid spacing means between said sheets and mounting said sheets together with the thickness of said ski being less than the width of the ski, and a buoyancy cavity bounded by said sheets and said spacing means with substantially more than half of the volume of said cavity positioned between said forward tip and said central area, and with said cavity having sufficient volume and lightness that said ski will float in water.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,104,441 Nelsen July 21, 1914 1,628,368 Lease May 10, 1927 2,716,246 Billingharn Aug. 30, 1955 2,933,740 Maples Apr. 26, 1960 2,940,090 Fournier June 4, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 65,793 France Nov. 9, 1955 (1st addition to No. 1,013,462) 

7. A WATER SKI COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED AND GENERALLY PARALLEL SHEETS OF A MATERIAL HAVING A SPECIFIC GRAVITY GREATER THAN UNITY WITH THE SHEETS DEFINING THE TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE SKI, ONE END OF EACH OF SAID SHEETS BEING CURVED TOWARD THE TOP OF THE SKI TO DEFINE THE FORWARD TIP OF THE SKI, THE SHEET DEFINING THE TOP OF THE SKI HAVING A GENERALLY CENTRAL AREA ADAPTED TO SUPPORT THE FOOT OF A WATER SKIER, GENERALLY RIGID SPACING MEANS BETWEEN SAID SHEETS AND MOUNTING SAID SHEETS TOGETHER WITH THE THICKNESS OF SAID SKI BEING LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE SKI, AND A BUOYANCY CAVITY BOUNDED BY SAID SHEETS AND SAID SPACING MEANS WITH SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN HALF OF THE VOLUME OF SAID CAVITY POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID FORWARD TIP AND SAID CENTRAL AREA, AND WITH SAID CAVITY HAVING SUFFICIENT VOLUME AND LIGHTNESS THAT SAID SKI WILL FLOAT IN WATER. 